The Chemist

Alex set the alarm clock by the bed for 1:45, but it was obvious that Daniel wasn’t interested in stocking up on sleep.

“We’re going to regret this around eight a.m.,” she promised him as his lips trailed down her sternum.

“I won’t ever regret this,” he insisted.

He was probably right. Given the abbreviated timeline they were working with, it didn’t make sense to waste even a second she got to have with him. Happiness with a deadline, just like she’d thought before. Only the happiness was greater now. And the deadline was crueler.

CHAPTER 23

A

lex did manage to get a little bit of sleep, maybe thirty minutes by the time the alarm sounded. Just enough that she was completely dragging as they set off. Daniel was more alert, so he took the first shift and she reclined the passenger seat as far back as it would go. The seats were much more comfortable, the suspension smoother, and it was easier to doze. The dogs seemed happy in the back, as if they appreciated the new ride, too.

She was herself again by the time they got to the dog-boarding facility north of Atlanta. It was after nine thirty; they were running a little behind, thanks to some construction delays on I-65.

Daniel stayed with the car as she carried Lola into the front office. It was a casual place, homey, with lots of fenced acres lining the road in. The dogs that ran alongside the car as they passed looked happy and healthy. Of course, Lola wouldn’t be running anywhere for a while.

The man behind the desk was all sympathy as Alex came in. He obviously had linked her to the reservation before she introduced herself as Ms. Wells. She followed patiently as he showed her the spacious kennel Lola would occupy and explained the visiting vet’s schedule. She thanked him and paid him for a month in advance, then gave Lola one last hug. As Kevin had promised, the man never commented on Lola’s injury in a specific way, and he didn’t mention Alex’s face. Twenty minutes later, she and Daniel were back on the road. Alex was glad it was her turn to drive. She needed something to concentrate on so she wouldn’t think about leaving Lola behind.

She thought Daniel would crash, but he was still bright-eyed and in a talkative mood. Or maybe he could see how she was trying to fight off the sadness and wanted to help. Knowing him, that was probably it.

“You know almost everything about me from that stupid file,” he complained. “But there’s so much I don’t know about you.”

“I’ve actually told you most of it. When my life wasn’t bizarre, it was pretty boring.”

“Tell me something embarrassing about you in high school.”

“Everything about me was embarrassing in high school. I was a huge nerd.”

“Sounds sexy.”

“Oh, really? My mother cut my hair at home and I had the most outrageous bangs the nineties had ever seen.”

“Please tell me there’s a picture.”

“You wish. When my mother died, I burned all the incriminating stuff.”

“Who was your first boyfriend?”

Alex laughed. “Roger Markowitz. He took me to senior prom. I had the most totally awesome puffy sleeves on my dress. Electric blue, naturally. Roger tried to slip me the tongue in the limo on the way to the ballroom, but he was so nervous that he threw up on me. I spent the whole dance in the ladies’ room trying to clean up. I broke up with him that night. One might describe it as an epic romance.”

“What a tearjerker!”

“I know. Romeo and Juliet had nothing on us.”

Daniel laughed. “Who was your first serious relationship?”

“Serious? Wow. Hmm, I don’t know if anyone would qualify besides Bradley. First year of med school at Columbia.”

“You went to Columbia med?” he asked.

“I was a very brainy nerd.”

“I’m impressed. Back to Bradley.”

“Do you want to hear something really and truly embarrassing?”

“Very much.”

“The reason I was first attracted to him…” She paused. “Maybe I shouldn’t admit this.”

“It’s too late to turn back. You have to tell me now.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay, fine. He looked like Egon. You know, from Ghostbusters? Just exactly like that, bouffant hair, round glasses, everything.”

Daniel worked to keep a straight face. “Irresistible.”

“You have no idea. So hot.”

“How long were you together?”

“Through that first summer. Then I won a scholarship in my second year. We both applied, and he thought he was a shoo-in. He didn’t take it well when I, as he put it, took it from him. He went in and demanded to see our scores. Something I noticed multiple times throughout my wild and crazy romantic period: lots of guys don’t like girls to be smarter than they are.”

“That must have really limited your dating pool.”

“Right down to zero.”

“Well, rest assured, I’ve never had a problem with a woman who is smarter than me. I wouldn’t want to limit my pool by that much. I think that kind of childishness usually goes away when men grow up.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it. I never dated anyone outside of school. I didn’t get to explore the adult stage of the human male. Well, till now.”

“Never?” he asked, shocked.

“I was recruited while I was still in school. I told you what it was like after that.”